Kimmeridge Joins Ascent Resources Bidding War with $6B Offer
The bidding war is heating up for those interested in buying Ascent Resources, a privately held company focused 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. Kimmeridge Energy, a private investment firm focused on the energy sector (sometimes called an “activist investor” and/or corporate raider), has put an offer on the table to buy out and take over Ascent: $6 billion. This is the first hard number we’ve seen since the whole bidding war began last week. Read More “Kimmeridge Joins Ascent Resources Bidding War with $6B Offer”

In early April, MDN brought you the exciting news that pipeline giant Williams, via its newly-minted subsidiary, Will-Power, is planning to build two Utica/Marcellus gas-fired power plants in the New Albany International Business Park in Licking County, Ohio, near Columbus, to power a massive new Meta (Facebook) data center complex (see
Pipelines in West Virginia (like most other states) pay property taxes. It’s a significant revenue generator for counties. There are many pipelines in Wetzel County, including three NGL pipelines owned and operated by MarkWest (aka MPLX) that connect to the Mobley Gas Plant. In 2022, MarkWest filed a tax return for the pipelines showing a 35% reduction in value due to less-than-forecasted pipeline usage, a concept called “economic obsolescence based on inutility.” The County Assessor for Wetzel County challenged MarkWest’s claim.
Hancock County, WV, is located in the tippy top of the northern panhandle of West Virginia, surrounded by Pennsylvania on one side and Ohio on the other. Yet somehow Hancock County has been left out of the Marcellus/Utica bonanza happening all around it. It’s not like there isn’t good rock under Hancock. Every other county that touches Hancock has drilled M-U wells within the last year. However, we can’t find any permits for a single shale well in Hancock. Ever. What gives?
In October, National Fuel Gas Company, a large utility company headquartered in the Buffalo, NY area with both upstream and midstream subsidiaries (Seneca Resources and NFG Midstream), announced a deal with CenterPoint Energy to acquire CenterPoint’s Ohio natural gas utility business (CNP Ohio) for $2.62 billion (see 

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation awards grants to 388 nonprofits; Blue states, high rates; New York utility says queue for large power users has tripled; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures extend losing streak; U.S. oil slides to four year low; Tokyo Gas to invest in U.S. downstream assets; Nearly 1,400 natural gas stations to power clean transport growth in 2026; INTERNATIONAL: Baker Hughes, Hunt announce joint framework for redevelopment of mature O&G fields; USA emerges as world’s hydrocarbon superpower.